High Water Levels in Yellowstone Finally Receding

Borderline record-high water levels caused by heavy snowpack in Yellowstone National Park are finally peaking and beginning to recede, according to a release from the park Monday. The park's popular rivers and swimming attractions have been high and many inaccessible for most of the summer, but are finally beginning to go down.

A release from the park said that Lamar, Gardner, Gibbon,
Madison, Firehole, Lewis and Snake Rivers all ran high and fast and approached flood level this year.

The Pelican Creek reached 8.7 feet in height on July 9 and was dubbed the “Pelican Estuary” by a visiting Biologist, according to the release. The Pelician Creek reaches flood level at nine feet. The Yellowstone River remains high, gushing 10,000 cubic feet of water per second over both Upper and Lower Falls.

Swimming areas like Mammoth Hot Springs and Firehole have been closed since May and are not expected to open until mid-August.

All park campgrounds are open for the season, but visitors are advised by park officials to be aware of wet conditions and always unpredictable water levels caused by runoff.

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